Mapping Ratty The National Water Vole Database Mapping

Mapping Ratty: The National Water Vole Database & Mapping Project Restoring Ratty Conference 11 th – 12 th October 2018 Catherine Mc. Guire www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

National Water Vole Mapping and Database Project Proposed by UK Water Vole Steering Group in 2008 Responded to revised BAP targets to maintain and increase water vole range from 730 10 km grid squares to 835 by 2015 Two primary aims 1. To assess national status and trends of water vole and American mink distribution 2. To use GIS to enable strategic water vole conservation at local, regional and national levels www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

About us Project Manager: Ellie Lewis, TWT Central Team Project Officer: Catherine Mc. Guire, HIWWT The Wildlife Trusts are: • • • Grassroots movement 46 individual Wildlife Trusts Come together as The Wildlife Trusts 800, 000 members 40, 000 volunteers 2, 300 nature reserves covering 98, 500 ha TWT We are uniquely placed to deliver this national project HIWWT www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Annual Project Steps: • Collate all the records • Clean the data • Map records as points • Apply modelling approach • Produce suite of maps including “key area” maps • Publish annual report and disseminate www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

The database 90+ data suppliers 113, 000 records 90, 000 water vole records www. hiwwt. org. uk 23, 000 mink records Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

GIS analysis – records MISSING DATA! How can we improve submission of records? www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

GIS analysis – distribution www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

GIS Analysis – Creation of Alert Areas • Methodology based on work developed by Beds, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) • Summarised in 3 rd Ed. Water Vole Conservation Handbook (Strachan and Moorhouse 2006) • Series of buffers around records and rivers • 2 km potential dispersal zone = alert area RECORDS www. hiwwt. org. uk ALERT AREA Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

National Reporting Recap of project aims: 1. To assess national status and trends of water vole distribution 2. To use GIS to enable strategic water vole conservation at local, regional and national levels © Tom Marshall www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Aim 2: Mapping Key Areas Alert Areas: • 2 km buffered water vole records Local Key Areas: • 6 km 2 or greater • Important for local populations of water voles Regional Key Areas: • 35 km 2 or greater • More likely to survive stochastic events and persist for 40+ years www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Alert, Local & Regional Key Area Mapping www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

The maps in action www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Aim 1: Assessing the trends Amazing work has been done and continues to be done. We should be proud. But… have we done enough? © Darin Smith www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

The national picture – have we failed the BAP targets? 2002 -2006 2011 -2015 2010 -2014 2009 -2013 2008 -2012 2007 -2011 2006 -2010 2005 -2009 2004 -2008 2003 -2007 Sadly – yes. www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

It’s not all bad news… www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Fighting back: reintroductions www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

So, what next…? www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Recommendations: Government 1. Revise the UK strategy for water vole conservation 2. Support landscape-scale water vole conservation programmes www. hiwwt. org. uk © Martin Ellis Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Recommendations: Landowners 3. Manage riverbank habitat positively www. hiwwt. org. uk © HIWWT Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Recommendations: Conservation Charities 4. Enlarge and expand conservation projects 5. Continue to monitor water vole populations 6. Invest further in volunteers 7. Use alert maps 8. Document and disseminate www. hiwwt. org. uk © Sarah Jackson Protecting wildlife, inspiring people

Recommendations: Individuals 9. Volunteer 10. Donate © HIWWT www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife,

What you can do • Send your records to your LERC • Send us your feedback and case studies • Please consider funding us! © Linda Pitkin www. hiwwt. org. uk Protecting wildlife, inspiring people